Intermediary, Inter Alliance, has acquired IFA, Heartland, for £2.5m, bringing 175 advisers and a turnover of £10m to its business.
The deal will see Inter Alliance taking on the IFA’s offices in St. Albans, Cardiff, Birmingham and Abergavenny.
An initial £750,000 has been paid, with a further £1.75m to change hands as the company’s advisers move over to Inter Alliance.
Friends Provident is providing a loan facility of up to £4m to pay for the deal and subsequent development.
Keith Carby, chairman and chief executive of Inter Alliance, said: ‘Scale is essential for those in the IFA sector who want to offer the best possible service to their advisers, and thereby enable them to offer an excellent service to their clients. This acquisition consolidates our position as the leading national IFA.
‘Heartland is an excellent fit for Inter Alliance. The regional synergy and similar cultures make this a natural integration.’
Elsewhere in the group, Inter Alliance has registered 150 advisers to its recntly-launched mortgage club, The Mortgage Alliance. The club has a panel of 21 lenders and Stuart Wilson, mortgage development director for Inter Alliance, said he expected further numbers to join.
However, despite initial suggestions the club may be open to all UK IFAs, Wilson said this was unlikely. Inter Alliance has standard procedures in place with its advisers and communication channels have been set up.
He said it was difficult for other clubs with more fractured member bases to replicate this, and felt a move to such a model would be disadvantageous.
Wilson hoped the club would also prove effective in attracting new advisers to Inter Alliance.
